Monochrome
by PuzzleRaven
Summary: Blaze of light. Not Antartica. Dark streets, not New York, smells different. Chicago? Manhattan chose here. Must have reason.Different streets, Same filth. No Keane Act here. Easy to identify criminals. Worst of the scum advertise, showing their true faces to the city. Will show them mine.


**Monochrome**

Blaze of light. Dark Streets. Not New York, smells different. Chicago? Different Streets. Same filth. Same Scum. Same whores. Know the types. Work to do. Manhattan chose here. Must have reason. Corruption in this place is endemic and unresolvable. Try anyway.

Easy to fit in. Rubbish made for sandwich board. No Keane Act here. Worst of the scum advertise, showing their true faces. Easy to identify. Will show them mine.

#

Two weeks on streets. Second day thrown change by man who says he likes the sandwich board. Identified Jonathon Crane, not wearing his true face. Hunted him. Target was returned to an asylum before base was located. Unsure who he knows to escape jail. Knows right from wrong. Doesn't care. Not insane.

Stupid ruling. Probably bought.

Active many years, man made enemies in that time. Has powerful allies to protect him. Remove them, collapse the house of cards. Research lead me to Iceberg Lounge. Centre for crime, unable to access. Well-trained bouncers, hit hard. Will return next week for office records, and deal with them. Takedown of this 'Penguin' will follow Underboss pattern: kick out supports and the head falls into the mud. Expect two years for complete removal.

Or is change futile? Corruption hides in human faces, using others' masks to pretend. Lets them claim they aren't responsible, that evil is people in masks, not people who aid them.

#

Tonight following lead. Got tip on the child kidnappings. All twins. Obvious culprit. Read reports. Know the obsessive. Know four of his bases.

Found them at the second. Ironic. Six sets of twins. Turd shot the triplet to make numbers even.

Guards by door. Loiter with wine bottle, staggering. Ignored. Both watching the rooftops not streets. Careless. Strike from gutter. First goes down as bottle shatters in his face. Second to a kick. Stomp down. Hear rib crack. Good. Pull face on. First is going to scream. Boot to head shatters jaw. Stops him.

No keys on either. Door is easily picked. Old factory, rusted machinery, poor lighting. Good cover. Giant press in the middle. Cogs and grinders are turning under suspended children. Two rows of three, rest caged to one sode waiting their turn. Had to do two sets.

Henchmen in halfmasks holding guns by entrances. See one with deadman's switch. Half-face on gantry wears no disguise. True face burned into skin where acid burned through mask.

Sidle round. Guard on mains power looking up and does not see me behind him. Break his neck. Throw breaker. Cogs slow. On gantry unmasked man reels as it shifts and lowers. Climb unnoticed as he aims at children, daring Bat to come from shadows. I close. He sees me, aims gun.

Knock gun aside. Hear ranting about black and white. Ignore. Punch harder. Scum stunned. Spits teeth. My hands round throat. Squeeze.

Henchmen abandon posts, run in. Device halts. Lift scum as shield. All of face now purple. Matches scars. Boots kick at my legs. Ignore. Had worse.

Scum's tongue sticks out. Screams and blows. Steel toecap hits my knee. Grip breaks. Scum gasping, reaching into coat. Shoulder charge him before he gets the gun. Pushed back against rail. Cogs turn below. Blades meant to divide twins rotate. Bend, start to lift his legs. Scum grabs the rail. Has no leverage. Bi-coloured head dips below rail over side, shoulders start to slide.

"Can't let you do that." New voice. Cape in shadows, behind me. Not Night Owl. Man dressed like bat. Heard of him. He stops, uncertain. "Vic?"

Kovics? Kovics is dead. Unwelcome distraction. Scum is still struggling, nearly gets free. I close fingers, push forward and up. Legs start to slide over rail. Scum struggles more, hands have deathgrip on rail. May have to break fingers. Lucky strike hits back of my head, knocks my hat over my face. Blind. Disorientated. Drop his legs to raise hat, clear vision. Hear scum pull himself back to gantry. My shoulder misses him. Twists free. Flees me, runs to bat.

Good punch. Studded gauntlets. Practical. Custom-made. Expensive. Backing.

Bat vigilante cuffs the downed scum. Between me and nearest exit. Go for second.

Hear police sirens outside. Not good. Jump gantry to walkway. Land hard, behind machine, blocking vigilante's view. Line-launch to a window. Out. Turn to roof behind me to double back. Line launch again, pull myself up. Slip. Reach for roofline. Fingers fall short. Feet slide towards gutter. Grab tiles. Tiles breaking under grip. Falling.

Caught.

Pulled up. Man in bat suit is stronger than he looks. Swing punch. Armour takes it.

"Don't struggle." An order. Ignore it. Punch for face. Blocked. His counter-punch hits harder. Have no breath to fight. Lifted up, feet put on roof too easily. Stronger than me. Stronger than Veidt. Presses hard button on back of coat, thinks it is unnoticed. Probably tracker.

His linelauncher carries two. Stronger than mine. Dropped two roofs away. Long way down, for him or me. Check the street below. Nice car. Better than Dan's.

See police by warehouse. Too late to make a difference. Reuniting surviving children with parents. Parents that didn't move out of town when twins were born. Idiots.

Bat looks at true face. Not who he expected.

"Who are you?" Voice is like gravel on streets. Fake.

"Rorschach." He already knows. Reply anyway. "Who's Vic?"

"A friend." A vigilante. Bat thought he was dead, hoped not. Now knows he is. Used to loss.

"Come with me." Asking, not ordering. Not cuffed. Can escape, remove locator beacon on back of coat, dump coat vanish in streets. Could run. No reason to. Arkham easy to escape, Blackgate unnecessary to. Target-rich environment. Take fire escape down to streets. He drops, cape like wings. Armour well-designed. Thought logo was pointless target. This close can see it is deliberate, reinforcement obvious. Draws attention from weakpoint of exposed face. Will use armoured arms to block punches there. Liquids will splash passed guard. Ease top loose on waterbottle in pocket as I reach street level.

Crafter could make gauntlets in garage. Waiting car requires specialist equipment. Base. Backing. Money to close mouths. Six in Gotham who could afford this. Climb into passenger seat. Controls tailored exactly to reach. Large industrial backing. Four with facilities in range.

Bat is talking to someone silently, throat mike, subvocaliser. Hiding his tells. Experienced, long practice, but not fond of disagreements, no, an argument.

Direction of travel is North North East, out of Gotham. Watch gyroscope and compass on dashboard. Canopy black, driver unphased, HUD? Count seconds, estimate speed and turn confirms suspicion. Returning to Gotham outskirts.

Car stops. Canopy slides back. High ceiling. Cave. Bats. Rabies. Wayne Manor grounds. Machinery better than Dan's. Already know Bat's real name, now know his false one. Climb out and wait for him to make next move. Fingers clutch waterbottle ready, as Bat closes door of car with force. Argument did not go his way.

"Follow me." I do. Large cave system, secure, hidden from spies and satelites. Easy to defend if entrances secured and site prepared. Suspect the bat prepares for everything.

Large computer screen, more advanced system than Hollis or Dan. Cutting edge, built with off-the-shelf supplies here. Untrackable. Brilliant. Dangerous in wrong hands.

"Rorschach." Bat uses my real name. Good.

"Batman." Use his. Shows his real face, earns his real name. He sits in front of screen, letting guard down. No, watching my reflection, foot braced ready to move. Less Dan, more Comedian. Good. Dan let me down.

"You let Selina Kyle go." Faster than me. Better climber. Claws cut line launch. Saw her escaping penthouse, lost her. Next day senator owning penthouse implicated in bribery and corruption scandal. Arrested.

"Thought she was vigilante." Bat's mouth twists under cowl. Knows her. Silk Spectre to his Nite Owl?

"She doesn't kill." Nor does he? Did their Keane Act equivalent prohibit it? Soft. Will ignore. "You've killed five people since you started operating in Gotham. You've maimed thirty-eight."

"Information. Scum. Stopped crime." Waynes were good family. Aged eight saw his parents gunned down in an alley. Nearly joined them. Should understand. At the end, Dan did not.

Brings up picture on screen. Vague resemblance to Walter's face, better looking, taller, movie star features. Split screen shows hat, coat, like mine, no scarf. Mask is blank white, no black. Pure, too good for this world. Should be black and white, divided like the city.

Two dates below the name confirm death. Bat is waiting for a reaction. Give him none. Let him speak.

"Vic Sage." Bat says. "The Question." Stops there, leaves it as a name. He knew this man, not Kovics. My analogue here? Silence stretches. See no need to speak. "Do you know him?"

"No." Pause. "Not my world."

"I know." Pause is significant and long. "Why are you here?" Manhattan. Veidt. Irrelevant now.

"Cleaning up streets."

"You're escalating. I can't allow that."

"Two-face?" I ask. Already know answer. Make him say it. "Killed children."

"He goes on trial for his crimes."

"Will be let out. Kill again."

"The law makes that decision." Naive. Expected better.

"Law is people. People fail. Criminals fill streets."

"Because the law puts them there." Hear what he doesn't say. He won't save the people from themselves. Understandable. Don't want scum on the streets. Don't elect scum that put them there. As bad as where I came from. Law is applied, punishment is a joke. Their villain is a clown. Fits.

"You're arresting me." Not a surprise, but delay is unexpected. Has an angle.

"No." Voice flat, not surprised, not disappointed. Uncharacteristic for Bat. "You will stop operating in Gotham." Menace is all Edward Blake, not Dan Dreiburg.

"You'll stop me." Have fallback plans for this. Arkham or Blackgate give easy access to criminals. Once finished, track record shows breaking out is easy.

"This is my city. In Gotham, the rule of law is paramount." Catch hint in voice.

"Your plan?" Rumour says Bat always has a plan. Tighten hand on bottle in pocket. If it is like Veidt's, will kill him now. Helm turns back to screen, shelters face from easy strike. Screen shows a city shot, wrecked, damaged. Smoke rises. Not Gotham. Worse. His jaw tightens. Hate.

"Gotham has a protector, but this does not. They have no law, the only law they want is survival of the fittest. The police aren't merely corrupt, they are the criminals." Not unusual. He thinks it could be different. "Vic left when he realised he couldn't save it. The Mayor's widow was attempting to clean it up, but with the death of her protector-" Plan is obvious. Sage dead. Was city's vigilante.

"Replace him." Here vigilantes take territory. Had not realised. Efficient to spread fear further. Not hit same targets. He nods.

"Your tickets. There's an apartment ready." Gauntlet holds out keys and tickets. Take them. Will make own arrangements.

Hear talking as I leave. Pause to listen. "He'll kill people. You know that." A woman. Girlfriend? His Silk Spectre?

"He'll kill people if I put him in Arkham, Belle Reve, or Blackgate. He'll assume they are all guilty of they are in there." Unlikely. Law is corrupt. Kill those who attack me. "On the streets he'll do his research."

"The streets? Do you really think that anywhere should have to deal with him? Even-"

"That place breaks heroes. It broke Sage." Anger in voice is unmistakeable. "I'm not letting it break Montoya."

"Then what do you think you _are_ doing?"

"Giving Hub City exactly what it deserves."

#

First night in town. Found restauranteurs tied up in property. New in town, paid wrong protection racket. Outside two firefighters setting up arson, still in uniform. Daughter, aged about seven, tied up in back of car for later use or resale. Scum stood clear, lit match. Threw their kerosene over them. Watched.

Hub City is tainted. Morals like the streets are dirty grey. Scum have forgotten there is black and white.

Will remind them.

_**Author's Note: I liked the idea of Rorschach in Hub City and wrote a lead-in._

_I didn't know Doomsday Clock existed when I started writing this, and I'm ignoring it for an alt-universe. As Rorschach says himself in it: "Not same man. Different."**_


End file.
